Your Next Step Could Be Your Last
by IJones007
Summary: Weevils are acting strangely and so is Gwen. When a new artifact is found and carelessly knocked off the desk by a jealous the Welshwomen, the team find themselves on a new world enhabited by strange creatures.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Throwing Your Arms Around Can Have Serious Consequences

All was quiet until Gwen burst into the Hub holding what looked like a metal football, she was waving it around and screaming, "I've found it!"

The team were gathered in Jack's office contemplating what to do about their most recent Rift alert. An excited girly squeal penetrated each ear drum and they looked up to see the Welshwomen heading towards them, a huge grin on her face.

In recent months Gwen had become clumsy around the work place. She kept dropping things, knocking papers off her desk, and even spilt Ianto's coffee over her keyboard. This only had happened because she increased her work load just to impress Jack, but she had found herself exhausted just after a week of attempting it.

Eyes were wide as she entered the office. "Here," The team parted like the red sea to let her through to place the large orb onto the desk.

Jack looked at it with a half hearted smile. "Where did you find it?" Gwen went into a long and over enthusiastic story of how she followed the rift spike co-ordinates to a small wasteland and how she spent hours looking for something strange - something alien. "Well done Gwen," Jack praised her, again half heartedly and this only caused her childish grin to become wider. Jack quickly changed the topic back to his conversation he had been having with others before the interruption. He bought Gwen up to speed. "We're changing our game plan for Weevil sightings, Gwen." She nodded, he carried on. "They seem be working out our methods and the spray is gradually becoming less affective even though we develop it every couple of weeks," He ended with a sigh.

Everyone had been ready to go out and capture the offending Weevil (the Rift alert) who had decided to emerge from its home and head on a rampage across the city, killing many people. But when they received the report the creature had been killed by armed Police, the team had to rethink their tack-tics.

"Why not create a new spray?" Owen offered.

"Yeah, I had thought about that, test it on Janet and see what happens. But what if it doesn't work? The Weevils in the sewers are different to her, they've adapted to their environment, evolved. If the spray doesn't work more people are going to die." A heavy atmosphere formed as Jack's words sunk in.

"We don't want to kill them. So why not stun them instead?" Gwen looked around at the others; she missed Ianto's eye roll and Owen's small smirk.

"We've been trying that but the skin seems to be thicker, it's not as affective." The doctor explained.

"So what's making them change so rapidly? It only seems a couple of months ago that we were chasing around 'normal' Weevils," Gwen couldn't understand what was happening and it seemed obvious the others didn't either.

"I don't know," Jack shrugged at Gwen's question. Did she really think he had all the answers? The women was going to be disappointed when she realises he doesn't.

Jack glanced at everyone, holding their gazes, looking deep into the eyes, as if he was using telepathy to gather any hidden thoughts, ideas. When his eyes landed on Ianto they softened and a fond smile was threatening to emerge but he couldn't show it in front of his team. He knew the Welshman wouldn't appreciate it and he didn't want to ruin the perfect night he had planned for the two of them.

The small change in the Captains face did not go unnoticed. Tosh inwardly smiled, she was happy for her best friend. Owen just shook his head and gazed down at the file which had been spread out upon the wooden desk. However Gwen was less subtle, her eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed into an unattractive frown. She produced a breathy laugh causing Jack to snap out of his eye-lock with Ianto.

"Is there a problem, Gwen?" He asked intrigued by the women's strange behaviour.

"Oh, nothing," She lied; of course she had a problem – with them, with Jack. What was he playing at? "I was just thinking about…stuff," She took a change to glance around the room noting the faces all had the same inquisitive expression.

"'Stuff' that happens to be more interesting than this?" He pointed at the document which Owen had turned back to.

"Yeah, well it's not like you are not doing the same," Her words were bitter.

"What's that meant to mean?" Jack stood so his legs were slightly apart and his arms were crossed protectively across his chest. Ianto called it his 'Captain pose'.

"You know perfectly well what that is meant to mean," She placed a hand on the edge of the desk and leant on it. "I saw that little look you gave him," She jerked her free thumb in Ianto's direction.

"So? I give little looks to everyone, Gwen. Don't be jealous because you didn't get one," He mocked, laughing as he did so. The glare he received from the Welshwomen chilled him. "What is your problem Gwen?"

By now the others had found the floor or the file very interesting, anything but the Gwen and Jack.

"You," She replied and the Captain's eyes widened. "You need to open your eyes Jack Harkness!" Gwen raised her voice and flapped her arms around.

The Captain sighed heavily. "We've been through this Gwen. My eyes are fine, perfect even. So drop it." Jack lowered his head to signal the conversation wasn't over.

Gwen boiled over with anger, reached over and grabbed the file away from Jack. "I'm still talking to-" As she pulled her arm back, her elbow caught the orb sending it rotating through the air towards the office floor. Like a tennis ball it squashed on impacted then reformed to its natural shape, and to the teams surprise it remained stationary - unlike an ordinary ball which would have bounced and rolled away.

Silence fell as every member of the team looked on in horror at the object. They had no idea what it was capable of doing, for all they knew it could be some sort of explosive device.

The sound of someone scrapping long nails down a black board filled the room sending shivers down spines and creating wincing looks.

"What the hell is that?" Owen complained as he tried to block out the noise from his ears with his hands.

As the noise died down it was replaced with the sound of steam escaping from a join in a pipe. Then, as if some invisible person hit the top of the orb, it fell into segments like a Terry's Chocolate Orange and revealed a sparkling purple pyramid.

Gwen edged forward but stopped at Jack's words. "Don't touch it," She was suddenly aware of his hand on her shoulder. "It could be dangerous,"

Suddenly the pyramid started to glow and pulsate. Gwen leant forward and music from an Irish pipe played a familiar tune.

"Is that River Dance?" She asked looking back at Jack whilst still bent over. He shrugged. Gwen turned back, lost her balance and fell forward. Placing her hands out in front of her to stop her fall, her little finger toughed a segment of the orb and knocked it over.

Jack grabbed her quickly. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He growled in her face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," She spoke through silent tears.

"Guys," Tosh spoke. "Guys, it's stopped making a noise," They all turned to look at the pyramid. It was true it had stopped making a sound; it had also stopped glowing which, in Jack's experience, wasn't a good thing.

The ground started to shake and the objects on Jack's desk started to dance across the wooden surface and drop off the edge where they were expertly caught by Ianto. Jack looked at him, impressed by his quick reflexes and made a mental note to experiment with them in their private moments. Gwen saw the look at fumed, her blood boiled and her face visibly reddened.

Shocks - which resembled the aftermath of a volcano eruption - burst from the pyramid. After the third wave the purple jewel started to pull things towards it. The air rushed past the ears of the team as they found themselves being dragged towards it.

"Grab something," Jack shouted above the noise of fast moving air. They did so, but the force of the suction was so great the team found it hard to keep their feet on the ground.

Toshiko's feet rose from the floor and he fingers started to slip from the object she was holding on to. Ianto grabbed her hand before her fingers slipped completely. She smiled in thanks but Ianto's hands we sweaty and hard to grasp onto. And then she found herself being sucked into the artifact.

"Tosh!" Ianto shouted as he saw the same thing happen to Gwen, then Owen.

Then suddenly it was only him and Jack in the office. They looked at each other and Ianto saw the fear in his lover's eyes. That emotion was rarely scene by the other members of Torchwood and he wished then that he wasn't the one witnessing it.

Jack held out his hand and Ianto took it. "Going in together," was all Jack said as they were both pulled into the purple pyramid.

-007-

They fell through a vortex of vibrant colours. Objects from every corner of the universe seemed to be falling along with them. A Blowfish fell past them, it was screaming. Then it suddenly stopped and shot out the right side of the vortex. As Jack and Ianto went past it they saw a reseeding hole which the Blowfish had obviously fallen through. It frightened Ianto, where were they going? And what the hell was that orb thing? His thoughts were interrupted by a tug on his hand and he found himself wrapped up in Jack's arms.

"Hold on," Ianto did has he was told and quickly put his arms around the other mans torso. "I think our exits coming up!"

He was right. They stopped abruptly, it was almost the same feeling when you perform an emergency stop in a car, and then they were thrown out the left side of the vortex.

They entered a place which resembled a tunnel, illuminated by small glow worm like creatures. In the distance there was a small speck of white light and the Welshman suspected that was where they were headed. Ianto closed his eyes and buried his head into Jack's neck and he felt the older mans arms tighten around him. He took one quick glance at the direction they were tumbling in and then everything went white.

-007-

They landed with a thump on soft warm ground. The tunnel had spat them out so Jack was led on the ground with Ianto on top of him, their arms still around each others bodies. Ianto opened his eyes slowly and found Jack's who was looking at him with a small smirk on his face. In a way it reminded the Captain of when they were trying to capture Myfanwy.

"Can you two never leave each other alone?" A London accent brought the two men out of their 'moment' and Ianto quickly leapt off Jack but found his body falling backwards as his feet sunk into the ground. "Yeah, we landed on sand," Owen pointed out and watched as Ianto looked baffled at his surroundings. "Where are we?" Owen complained.

"My PDA isn't picking up anything," Tosh informed them.

"Brilliant." Owen sarcastically said as he let himself slump onto the sandy ground.

Jack, now up on his feet, was studying his wrist strap whilst the others had been talking. "I'm not getting anything either," He sighed. "Well, we wouldn't be here if someone wasn't acting weird," He threw his sentence at Gwen.

"Oh, so now this is my fault?" She argued back.

"Yes, if you just listened to what I said then-"

A rumble under their feet stopped their conversation. The grains of sand seemed to vibrate around their feet then small waves of sand, like the sea, lapped at their shoes.

Absorbed into looking at their feet the team didn't notice the giant Angler fish swimming through the sand until it dived under the surface producing a bigger wave.

Jack looked up, swore under his breath, and then began to run. He looked back and he was relieved to find his team following, the horrified looks on their faces told him they had seen the creature.

"Head for the rocks," He ordered. They were a good four hundred meters away at least and the fish was gaining on them fast.

Three hundred meters to go and his team were keeping up a good pace except the fish was still on their tails.

Two hundred meters to go and Toshiko was starting to fall behind. Her little legs couldn't keep up with the long strides of the others and Jack slowed for her to catch up. "Keep going," He shouted towards Owen, Gwen and Ianto.

One hundred meters to go and Jack was holding Toshiko's hand, willing her to hurry but they were at least ten meters away from the others. "I don't mean to rush you Tosh but the fish is gaining," She could have hit him if she wasn't using all her strength to run. "I'll carry you if you want." Jack asked using his cheeky grin.

Twenty meters away from safety felt like a lifetime to the team, but the thought of being eaten by a giant alien fish was not their ideal way to go, so they staggered on.

By now the creature was practically on top of Jack and Tosh. In the distance the Captain could see the other members of his team perched on the solid land mass, he was glad they were safe. Then he took a small opportunity to glance behind him and his heart rate quickened at the sight.

The fish was not like Earth's sea creatures. This close Jack could see the gills were covered over by a translucent piece of skin, to stop the sand getting in he concluded. But the creature not only had fins but in front of the limbs there were crab-like arms with its pincers snapping at Jack's heels.

Ten meters away and Owen and Ianto had clambered down to where the rocks met the sand so they could reach their friends hands to pull them to safety.

"Hurry up guys!" Owen shouted and pointed to the fish. It had raised its pincers, ready to strike.

"We're doing our - Arrgghh!" Jack screamed in agony has the sharp points of the pincers grasped him around his waste and pierced his torso.

"Jack!" Ianto screamed as he watched the creatures grip harden around his lover. From the corner of his eye he could see Owen grasp Tosh's hand and pull her onto the rocks whilst removing his gun from the back of his trousers.

The Londoner fired bullets at the eyes of the monster and it squirmed in pain as the solid metal objects imbedded themselves into its eyelids. It tried to dodge Owen's next round of fire and in doing so Jack's body was being flung around like a rag doll.

Ianto and Gwen pulled their own weapons out and empty the magazines into the creature's skin. Each time a bullet hit it flinched and retreated from them.

"Shoot the pincer!" Owen yelled. They moved their aim so it was focused on the joint which attached the pincer to the arm and slowly the bullets ate away at its flesh. It fell, along with Jack, onto the warm sand.

Ianto was immediately at his side, removing the claw from the Captain's body, and was preparing to drag the man to safety as the wounded fish delved back into the sand from which it came.

"Come on, get off the sand," Gwen said as she helped Ianto pull Jack onto the rocks. They all breathed a sigh of relief once they knew everyone was safe.

Ianto looked down at Jack, his long coat was hiding the wounds the fish inflicted upon him. The Welshman did not dare to move it. But Owen did.

"Ouch!" He hissed and Ianto found his eyes trailing across Jack's body to the huge hole in his chest where blood was continuing to ooze from the wound. He felt sick and he was thankful that Owen replaced the coat.

"What do we do now?" Gwen asked looking at the others.

"We wait for Jack to wake up, and then we'll decide." Ianto said.

-007-

Gwen always knew Jack's heart had been captured by Ianto and it was proven to her as she watched the Welshman cradle the Captain in his arms as he waited for him to come back to life. She envied Ianto. If she was with Jack she probably wouldn't be able to handle his immortality as well as he did.

But she would always know sticks and stones caused Jack pain and the odd death, but she wondered if being called 'Immortal' hurt him? It probably did and she began to wonder even more if Ianto had the ability to comfort him from the words, to tell him it was alright. Somehow she didn't think he could, not as well she would be able to, anyway.

She had tried reasoning with the Captain saying 'how Ianto was holding him back and putting the rest of them in danger'. But he simply shrugged her off and turn the conversation around and claimed she held him back by stopping him from doing what he needed to, because she became too emotionally involved. But hadn't Jack said that was a good thing? So then she would leave his office in a huff and she knew he was wearing his smug smile.

So now she sat on a rock on some strange planet, thinking. Looking around she noticed people's attitudes towards each other that she never spotted when they were in the confined spaces of the Hub. Owen and Tosh were sat close together discussing things about the Rift and what they had found about the place they were in. She ignored Jack and Ianto. Then she realised she was sat on her own, twiddling her thumbs, waiting.

It was time she acted. Take charge like she did when Jack had disappeared, be the second in command she was meant to be. Time to use some force, she thought, sticks and stones are just not enough.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to everyone who has placed this story on their alert and favourites lists, it is much apreciated. All mistakes are my own.****  
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><p><strong>Chapter Two: A Nasty Suprise<strong>

The sun was hot and the humidity high causing the team to remove some layers of clothing.

Tosh was sitting crossed legged at the join where the rocks and the sand met; she had her PDA out and was busy studying the fine grains. She had taken off her coat and placed it over her head, to shield her from the intense heat and rays from the foreign sun.

Bringing her eyes up, for a rest from the small screen, she looked at the others. Ianto was still with Jack, holding him tight and stroking his hair. Tosh had heard him whispering small nothings to the Captain, it made her smile. She hated to admit it, but she was proud of the Welshmen, after all Ianto was her best friend.

Something caught her eye. Gwen was moving towards the two men and Toshiko watched as she sat down at the other side of Jack and moved a piece of hair which had fallen across the man's face. Gwen smiled at her actions while letting her eyes wonder around Jack's face, all types of thoughts entering her mind. Then she looked up, but not in time to see the murderous protective face Ianto was giving her.

Tosh tried not to giggle. She knew how Ianto felt about the Captain and she hoped one day he would have the courage to tell Jack, but for now she enjoyed catching them hugging or kissing when they thought no-one was looking. But she loved it even more when she managed to get Ianto to talk about his many dates with Jack, even if most of them were spent on top of a building.

"I'm so bored!" Owen walled. He had led himself out on a relatively flat piece of stone to sunbath. "I mean, why you couldn't get the thing to send us to some amazing planet where there are strange buildings with floating aliens? But no, you had to send us here," Whilst he had been talking he had sat up and now his arms were stretched out wide indicating their surrounds.

"I didn't ask it to bring us here," Gwen growled at the Londoner. "And before you say anything, it wasn't my fault."

"It wasn't your fault?" Owen asked. "How did you come to that conclusion PC Cooper?"

Gwen was stuck for an answer and said the first thing which came into her head." Well, Jack had hold of me, blame him," She got up and slowly walked to where Owen was.

"You can't blame him," Owen said back, astonished at Gwen's sentence. "He was just trying to keep you safe, like he does most of the time."

"I know what I am doing." Gwen said back and Owen snorted.

"You really don't Gwen. We," He cycled his hand referring to Tosh, Ianto and himself. "Have been at Torchwood for longer than you, so what makes you think you know more about this stuff than we do?"

"Because," She lost for words again. "Because, Jack made me second in com-"

GASP!

Toshiko, Owen and Gwen snapped their heads round at the sound of air rushing into Jack's lungs.

Ianto's arms tightened around the man's body as Jack's hands found the material of his shirt and clung onto it. "It's okay," The Welshman spoke softly and Jack groaned.

"I hate Mondays; I always die dramatically on a Monday."

Ianto chuckled. "It's Wednesday," Jack looked at him and Ianto tried not to laugh at the adorable confused expression.

"Ah, same scenario, different day," Jack groaned once more as he heaved himself into a seating position with the help from a strong Welsh hand on his back.

"Finally, the Captain has returned," Owen said sarcastically. "Now you can ask him who is actually second in command." He smiled smugly.

Jack had made it to his feet and looked at Gwen, confused.

Gwen had scowled at Owen before turning and walking to Jack, hope in her eyes. "Who is second in command?"

Jack raised an eyebrow and turned to Ianto. "This is what they were talking about whilst I was out of it" The Welshman nodded and Jack laughed. "You are on a different planet and all you can talk about is who is second in command?" He looked at Gwen.

"Well, what else were we meant to do?" She protested.

"I don't know, maybe find things about where we are?" He gave her a stern look then he realised something. "Oh, you were hoping I would know …" He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look Gwen, I don't know everything," A ping sounded out from Toshiko's PDA and Jack was thankful he didn't have to explain to Gwen why he wasn't the amazing person she thought he was.

The team gathered around Tosh. "What have you got?" Jack asked as he knelt down beside and he was joined by the others.

"Well, not a lot really," She looked embarrassed. "I can only repeat what we already know,"

"Oh that's great," Owen said and sighed. "Are we stuck here?"

"Um…"

"That's a yes," Owen groaned even more.

"At least I was making an effort unlike you who decided to sunbath rather than helping me to find out what happened to us," Tosh argued.

"Yeah, well …"

"You disturbed the sand," A man appeared at Toshiko's shoulder, looking at her PDA then the sand. He was wearing a Victorian styled gentlemen's suit but the jacket had been removed to reveal rolled up sleeves and a faded waistcoat which once would have been a pastel green with gold decorations. His white cravat, now discoloured, had been loosened due to the heat, yet he still wore a dirty brown top hat – his trousers were the same colour. "You disturbed the sand." He repeated looking up to give the team small sharp glances and placed an arm around Tosh.

"Get your arm off her!" Owen said standing up and pulling Tosh with him. The man gazed at him, his face expression didn't change. "Where the hell did you come from?" He asked looking around. "There's nothing around here for miles," By now Jack, Ianto and Gwen were also on their feet.

"Oh, manors, yes, sorry," Suddenly the man produced a smiled which appeared to have been practised in the mirror and this was the first time he was using it outside the reflective world. He stood up and stuck his right hand out. "Doctor Steel, I own the place,"

"What place?" Gwen asked, looking the doctor up and down.

Steel jerked a left hand thumb over his shoulder. "Over there, it's big enough, you can't miss it. I built it myself, well, the added on bits were my doing. The rest was already here."

"What are you on about?" Gwen asked. "There's nothing out here," She looked in the direction of where the man was pointing.

He turned around as if he were drunk and frowned. "Oh," He turned back to face the team who all looked unimpressed. He turned back to where he had been pointing. From one of his waistcoat pockets he pulled out a small rectangular devise which he pointed at the horizon.

Suddenly, as if a great curtain fell from its poll, a huge mass of cubes stacked on top of each other, covered in pipes and gears with an enormous funnel bellowing smoke into the sky appeared before the teams eyes. Parts looked as if they should have come from clocks and steam engines, whereas others looked as if they were found on a scrap hip. The whole 'building' was raised several meters off the sandy surface with small steps leading up to two panels of metal acting as doors.

"It's not much but its home," The practised smile returned to his face. "And a lab …" He muttered the last bit; he didn't want them to know just in case they wanted to shut him down. "Come inside, I'll get you a cup of tea,"

"Coffee, please, if you have it." Ianto said and received a strange look from Steel. Jack tried not to chuckle at his lovers priorities.

Gwen was about to walk off the rocks and head in the direction of the house, but Steel grabbed her arm and in a growl said. "Don't walk on the sand," Once again he pulled out the 'remote', pressed another button, and then the sand started to shift. From under the surface came large round pillars, the same height as the rocks with a one meter circumference, they were at least a meter and a half apart. "Follow me," Steel said with a happy note in his voice as he jumped to the first pillar. The team did as they were told and followed the strange man.

Tosh looked at the first gap between the rocks and the pillars. I can't make that, she thought. But then she found someone had grasped her hand, Owen. She looked up the man and he gave her a small reassuring smile. Together they made the first gap.

There were about one hundred and fifty pillars between them and the house and Steel was making short work of the distance, it was obvious he had made the trip several times.

Jack and Ianto were a few stone pillars behind the man with Gwen just behind them. The two men weren't talking partly because Ianto was letting Jack take in his surrounds and giving him the chance to let his subconscious to work to find out where they were. Ianto itched to kiss away the frown which the Captain wore, it did not suit him. The Welshman preferred it greatly when Jack laughed and smiled. But he could not do this with Gwen hot on their heels.

"He walks so bloody fast," They heard Owen moan, again.

"Be grateful Owen, we could still be on a rock with a fish just waiting to eat us," Jack called back but did not turn round to look at him. "I wonder how he got here," Jack whispered to no-one in particular, but he knew Ianto heard it by the slight movement of his head.

Soon they were walking up the steps, through the metal doors and into a huge corridor. Sheets of steel made up to look like old fashioned panelling decorated the walls and pictures of people wearing similar clothes to Doctor Steel hung at regular intervals.

The team gazed upon them in wonder but they had questions, many questions which they hoped this strange made could answer for them.

Heading through another set of doors they entered a room which resembled a drawing room. Faded carpets, wallpaper and leather furniture dulled the room down and Jack tried to picture it in all its glory, but failed to do so.

"So," Steel began. "Once again, welcome to my home, lovely isn't it?" He smiled the smile again and Ianto couldn't help but feel uneasy in his presence. "Tea," He suddenly announced and pulled a cord near an armchair and spoke into the large funnel which was on an articulated arm. "Miss Violet, could you possibly prepare some tea and deliver it to the drawing room?" He turned and sat down into the seat with the smile forced onto his face. "What brings you here…"

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack filled Steels cap. "And we don't know. We were transported here and were would like to get back home."

"Home? We mean you are not from the Other Side?" He looked disappointed.

"The Other Side? No, we are from Earth. Where is this place?"

Steel didn't answer straight away but when he did, he seemed to be in a memory and speaking like a child. "We lost so many to the Other Side, many wise and intelligent men because their curiosity was too great, never to return…" He trailed off as the doors they had come through and close immediately behind them, opened once more to reveal a woman holding a tea tray.

Miss Violet wore a dark green dress which had a huge spilt up to her hip on the let hand side and underneath, in a darker shade or possibly black, tight trousers – they were tucked into knee high boots. On her upper torso the bodice of the dress fitter her perfectly and it accentuated every curve of her hourglass figure. Her brunette hair was tided back into a loose bun at the back of her head and goggles hung around her neck. The features upon her face were delicate compared to the cold look in her eyes and the metal tray in her hands.

"The tea you requested, Sir." She said plainly as she walked further into the room to place the order on the small.

Ianto looked around the room. Owen's eyes and mouth had widened and the Welshman could have sworn he saw saliva threatening to spill out the corners of his mouth. He wasn't surprised to see Gwen and Tosh giving the women a jealous death stare just like he wasn't surprised to see the playful smirk on Jack's face and Ianto knew he was conjuring up some plan to get her into a bed. That was when Ianto felt the pang of jealousy and he suddenly knew how the girls felt.

He would never understand the immortal. One moment he was grabbing his hand, hugging him, kissing him and making him feel safe, but the next he was like an animal searching for his next meal or bed mate. Ianto tried not to think about it. Tried to accept that what he and Jack had wouldn't last. But there was something in Ianto's mind telling him that Jack was trying to change his ways.

A few months ago Jack and joined Ianto on a trip to the supermarket to collect food supplies for the Hub. They had been in the coffee section when an obviously attractive couple walked down the aisle and Ianto expected for Jack to react, anything, a wink, a smile, a comment but no. He didn't even bat and eyelid. How strange, Ianto had thought.

But now in the room, the Welshman was feeling very…uncomfortable.

Steel coughed. "Thank you," And he picked up a cup and poured tea for himself and his guests.

Jack took his gaze off Miss Violet and glanced at Ianto. He instantly regretted his old ways slip through, he had been trying so very hard to prove to Ianto he could be better, but that that moment all those months of trying had been for nothing. He glanced to the floor then back up to Steel.

"I suppose you are going to ask what we are doing here," He didn't look up at the others whilst he stirred his tea with a silver spoon.

"Yeah," Jack said. " I also want to know how we can get back," He crossed his arms and looked sternly at the other man.

"Of course, only natural you want to do that," He took a sip of his tea and places it back onto the tray. He took in a deep breath and began to speak. "This is a research facility, Captain. We send the spheres to every known place in the universe which sustains life, bring it back here, and take down its particulars then…" He trailed off.

The team looked at each other and Ianto raised an eyebrow. "Take down its particulars then, what?" Owen asked what everyone else was thinking.

Steel looked up, sadness in his eyes and sighed. "It is easier to show you than explain." He lifted himself from his seat and walked over to where Miss Violet was holding out a knee-length coat for him, he put it on. "Follow me."

-007-

They were walking in single file through gaslight lit corridors, Steel was in front of them and Miss Violet behind. Owen had muttered something about them treating Torchwood as of they were children but he was silenced by Tosh before he could vocal his opinion louder.

Soon they came to a set of heavy metal doors which looked as though they had been riveted together and they had big black handles to match.

Steel stopped and took off his gloves which he had put on whilst they walked. To the right of the door was a screen and various coloured buttons, he pushed a few them and placed his hand on the screen. Jack watched on, impressed by the level of technology the place had. It was a big contrast from the buildings surroundings.

Whilst the doors slid open, Steel replaced his gloves and smiled at the little gasps his guests let out. He walked forward slowly.

As they entered the room Jack noticed it was huge, in fact it was so vast the entire Torchwood Hub could fit into it more than a dozen times. That was when he noticed the rows upon rows of cylindrical tubes each with pips, wires and other such equipment sprouting from them. The impressed feeling from before soon faded and was replaced with disgust. Slowly they started to move down the nearest row but Jack couldn't bring himself to gaze through the slight haze of condensation covering the inside of the glass.

"Oh my…" Welsh words replaced her feelings as Gwen ran up to the nearest tube and placed her hands on the glass. Jack came to rest next to her and his eyes widened.

Behind the glass, covered in wires, stood a Weevil, its normal carnivorous behaviour masked by its current state of sedation.

"Jack, it's a…" Gwen wasn't sure whether to say the name of the creature; it would mean revealing who they were.

"You know what this beast is?" Asked Steel with a quizzical eyebrow and Gwen nodded. "My I ask its identity? I would prefer the beast to have a name rather than a number."

The name was spoken and Steel jotted it down on the cylinders name tag and produced a small smile as he read aloud his handwriting. "Thank you, that makes me feel better." He then walked forward and began talking about what they had discovered about the Weevil, but the team was not listening because they already knew all about the leathery skinned creature. Instead they were gazing at the facility with its tall ceiling and iron frame work.

"But the…Weevil is not the best thing we have here," He clapped his hands together and produced that forced-over-practised smile. The team look at him as he swiftly stepped in front of another cylinder which had a red velvet curtain draped over it. With one quick tug the material fell to the ground to reveal a human shaped form. The figure, obviously a women's, was around Owen's height with Ianto's hair colour but she looked as though she had stepped out of a Victorian film set. Even with the bad lighting, the team could tell she was a beautiful and striking woman.

"Is that…Is that a human?" Gwen asked and Jack, along with Ianto, had to force himself not to roll his eyes. They had seen the description of the life form but, like the Weevil, it hand a number not a name or species type.

"No, Miss Cooper," Steel looked at her in the eye which made her shiver. His eyes had seemed to loose their emotion for a split second but when he removed his gaze the excited look was back. "We don't have a name for this beauty. However we do know she's special." He picked up the papers attached with string to the cylinder and started to read out what they had researched. "Her genetic makeup is completely different to any human we have had here… I mean, she has a higher blood pressure…two hearts…" He looked up and he noticed the Captains slight widening of his eyes, oh it looks like Harkness knows what this woman is, he thought. "But the funny thing is, we know all this but not her name or species type. In fact we even know she doesn't come from this universe…" He let his sentence hang and was pleased Gwen gasped. "We've never had someone like her here before."

Owen stepped forward and gestured to the papers which Steel freely gave to him. "How did you find out she wasn't from this universe?"

Steel went into a long explanation about Rift energy which caused Tosh and Jack to exchange looks. This made Steel's queries of the group of people rise and he glanced at Miss Violet. In the look they seemed to share words and each nodded at the end of their long stare.

"Miss Sato," Steel said after a while and interrupted Jack and Gwen's quiet argument. "How would you like to visit out technology department?" His smile widened, but it seemed more natural than his other 'fake' smile. "Miss Violet shall escort you." And with that the two women walked off in the other direction and left the others with Steel who started to wonder off.

Walking a little faster to keep up with the man, Ianto asked Jack a question. "Was that a wise idea to leave Tosh with Miss Violet?"

Jack looked slightly worried. "I hope so, but Tosh still has the stun gun if she gets into trouble,"

"Yeah," Ianto sighed. "I don't like this place, it has that feeling about it," He looked at Jack who raised an eyebrow. "That the exterior is appearing all nice and innocent but really things inside are a lot worse."

"I know what you mean and I'm working on an escape plan if something goes wrong."

A while later Miss Violet returned minus Tosh. She explained she had left the technician to look around and play with the equipment. They all had nodded and carried on with the tour, after all it wasn't like Tosh to miss an opportunity to look at new alien technology.

They ended up looking at the science department which Steel explained was where they did the examinations of the aliens and Owen, with Miss Violet, stayed behind as the team carried on.

"Obviously we need somewhere to refresh ourselves," Steel opened the door to show them the canteen where the smell of coffee hit them. Ianto smiled and his stomach made a noise at the sudden smell. "You may quench your thrust Mr Jones," The Doctor laughed as he watched Ianto stride across the room. "It appears he might be while, shall we move on?" He asked but he did not wait for a reply and he was already walking as Jack made his protests.

The Captain gave Ianto a 'phone' gesture so he could catch up with them but Jack had this horrible feeling that what his lover had said earlier was true.

Around half an hour later they were back in the room of cylinders. They were slowly walking down a row which Steel hadn't taken them down before.

"Its freezing down here," Gwen said as her teeth clattered together.

"Sorry, we have to keep the temperature regular and doing this," He pointed to the air condition units. "Is the only way to do it here," Whilst he had been talking he had not stopped to talk to them, in stead he had carried on walking, gaze fixed on the ground.

Gwen stopped at looked at the two men who were oblivious to her actions. She noticed the tubes of glass which were around them looked as though they had been freshly put there. She made her way over to them and wiped her hand on the glass, clearing away the condensation.

She jumped back and screamed.

Looking back at her was the frosty face of one Ianto Jones.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Frozen**

Jack stopped, turned and ran towards the screaming women. "Gwen?" He asked as he grasped her by the shoulders. Her wide-eyed gaze was fixed on the cylinder as her vocal chords and mouth tried to produce words. In the end she brought a hand up to point in the direction of her stare.

Jack followed the finger and his face paled dramatically at the sight of his lover behind the glass. He let go of Gwen and slowly walked towards it. Pressing a hand against the glass, where the Welshman's face was, his heart constricted as he let his eyes flicker over the other mans frosty features. Jack leant in so his breath appeared on the glass and he let the worry and concern fill his voice as he whispered Ianto's name.

"Captain, is there a problem?" Steel asked, approaching the pair cautiously. "There is still much more to see," He added.

Jack's voice was a whisper on the cold air of the room. "What have you done to him?"

"I'm sorry, who?"

Suddenly Jack lunged forward grabbing the Doctor by the scruff of his neck. He dragged him to stand in front of his friend and held him in place as he growled in the man's ear.

"I ask again," Jack drew in a deep breath ready for the man's answer. "What have you done to him?"

"I…I…" Steel gave out a girly scream as Jack forced him up against a nearby cylinder, pressing his face firmly onto the glass. "I don't know anything," He insisted as he felt the Captain take his right up and force it back up between his shoulder blades.

"Jack!" Gwen suddenly called out, breaking Jack's focus and his grip on the Doctor slackened. The Welshwomen was looking through the glass of another tube. "It's Owen." She said her voice surprisingly calm.

Something inside Jack's head clicked and his hands tightened their hold on Steel. Jack almost smiled at the squirming man against him and the feeling over power increased within him.

"TELL ME!" He screamed in Steel's ear.

"He doesn't know anything Captain," A voice calmly said.

Jack dropped Steel and the man collapsed at his feet. There, stood at the end of the row of cylinders was the source of the voice. A woman dressed immaculately, aiming a gun at Jack with one hand, and the other on her hip.

"Miss Violet," Jack sighed. "I should have known,"

"I have to say," She lowered her gun whilst slowly taking small steps forward and then she ran her eyes from the Captain's head to his toes and back again. "I've heard such great stories of the famous Captain Jack Harkness," Miss Violet had stopped in front of Jack and ran a finger down his cheek. "But now I see you in the flesh," Again she let her eyes wonder around Jack's face. "I am a little disappointed,"

Jack raised an eyebrow, what did she want? He found his breathing had increased as the women leant in and invaded his personal space. The space which he only let a select few enter. Being this close he could smell her lavender perfume and the foundation covering unwanted crows feet. From a distance she was a stunning woman but at close proximity the lines in her delicate features told Jack she was the one who handwrote all the files for the individuals which were housed inside the facility.

As if she could read the Captain's mind she spoke. "Your friends are safe Jack," She looked over his shoulder. "We'll just take what we need from them and let them go,"

"Really?" Jack puffed out his chest and crossed his arms. "I highly doubt that. From what I have seen here you are just experimenting on creatures, turning them into things they were never born to be. That's what you did with the Weevils." Jack pointed a finger and Miss Violet and she involuntary took a step backwards. "And then you send them back to see if your altered version will survive in their world." The anger within Jack could clearly be seen within his eyes and his clenched fists.

"Captain," Miss Violet's voice was calm; she had composed herself after Jack's accusation. "It's just an experiment after all and we only pick one or two from each species so it doesn't matter,"

"It does matter!" Jack let his anger out through his voice. "You can't mess with evolution." He spat.

"Oh please," She raised an eyebrow. "You can hardly talk." A cruel smile fell across her face. Jack's face relaxed then screwed up in confusion. "I know what you are Jack. Our security system scanned you and your team as you entered the building. We've been hunting you down."

Jack laughed. "Am I meant to be flattered? Hunting me down? Please," Jack's eye roll would have made Ianto proud. "Now ditch the small talk and give me my friends back or I'll destroy this place," The authority in his voice did not faze the women in front of him. He suddenly felt Gwen at his side.

"Release them." Gwen demanded as she aimed her gun at Miss Violets head.

The other woman chuckled. "No, if you're not going to give yourself up Jack, then I want some information," Her eyes narrowed as if she was challenging the Captain.

"Seriously, you would throw away the opportunity to 'study me' for information?" Jack laughed. "I still don't believe you."

Miss Violet gave him a look, sighed, and started inspecting her finger nails. "The woman Miss Cooper asked about earlier, the woman with no man, I have a feeling you know what she is," She looked at Jack with a quizzical eyebrow but his stance never shifted. "You do, I know you do. I saw the look in your eye when you saw her and the way they widened when Steel said she was special,"

On the floor the Doctor grunted. "Miss Violet, stop this," He raised his head, clutching his aching arm in the other. "We do not need the information; we can work out what she is, where she came from and how. We do not need these visitors to tell us," He winced as a wave of pain rippled over his body.

Thoughts and ideas filled Jack's mind. "Here's an idea, you give me my friends and I might not be so tempted to burn this place to the ground?"

Miss Violet dramatically sighed and rubbed her temples with her middle fingers. "Fine," She snapped back. "Steel, defrost the Captains friends and meet us in the office?" He turned on her heels and started to walk down the row of cylinders towards the heavy metal doors. "Follow me Captain."

Gwen looked up at Jack with a worried expression. He gave her a squeeze on the shoulder and followed Miss Violet.

Once they were gone Gwen looked down at Steel. "Come on then, defrost Owen, Tosh and Ianto." She demanded.

-007-

An hour later and Gwen looked into the cylinders, the frost had disappeared from her friends' faces and they had a slight pink colouring rather than a deathly looking blue.

She sighed. "How much longer is this going to take?"

Steel was looking at his watch. "Another half and hour I'm afraid, you can't rush these things." He looked at Gwen. "Defrosting people too fast can cause damage and I'm sure your Captain wouldn't want that," He was now stood in front of the tube which held Ianto. "Especially with this one,"

Gwen looked at him wide eyed and nodded. "Yeah," The bitterness she felt inside filled every letter of the word.

"I am sorry for what happened; I didn't know she was like that. She was such a good girl when she was young." He sighed and slumped down to the floor holding his head. "This place was meant to record the species of the universe not to create new ones. You see, it was Miss Violet's idea to give the creatures the injection,"

"The injection?" Gwen asked, curious as to what Steel was freely telling her.

"Yes," He looked up. "It enables the creature to adapt to their environment so they are strong and become more of a dominant species. I tried to stop her but removing some of the chemicals used to make it but, somehow she always found more." He let his eyes fall to the ground and sighed again. "This is my entire fault,"

"It might be but," Gwen looked around. "Maybe you can help us," She received a puzzled look. "Look, I don't think you're a bad man but we can stop Miss Violet if we work together,"

Gwen looked into his eyes and she could have sworn she saw the light bulb turn on within his mind. "Yes we can, but we would need to shut this place down to stop her completely." His breathing quickened. "But that would mean destroying my entire life's work."

"Isn't there something which has all the information on it which could be saved?" Gwen was stunned at her words. Not long ago this mans was showing them around his facility, which she thought was very impressive, but then things started to become suspicious when Miss Violet had offered to take Toshiko to their technology suit. She shook her head, now was not the time to look back at the past she needed to focus on the now and how they were going to get out.

A ping signalled the defrosting process had completed. The three Torchwood members opened their eyes slowly and stumbled from their tubes. Gwen managed to Catch Tosh before she fell face first onto the ground. The Welsh woman looked up to see Ianto leaning against the door of the cylinder, a hand over his eyes. Owen was on one knee taking in deep breaths.

Steel was using a scanner to check each of them didn't have any injuries from being frozen. He was stood next to Owen when he looked to Gwen. "The effects will ware off soon but they are all fine Miss -" He was cut off as Owen's fist collided with his jaw.

"That's for kidnapping me," The Londoner was shaking his hand to rid it of the sting from the punch and watched as Steel fell to the ground clutching his face. Suddenly Owen rushed forward but was stopped by Gwen and Toshiko.

"No Owen, he can help us," Gwen said calmly, placing her hand on his shoulder

"Oh can he now? What by putting us into one of those things again? I think not!" He spat and gave the Doctor a look of disgust.

"No, he can get us out of here," Gwen looked onto his eyes and Owen nodded.

Steel slowly stood up whilst rubbing his jaw. "Yeah I can and I've got a plan."


End file.
